Two years after moving Classic Rock “Q103” 103.5 WQBJ Cobleskill/103.9 WQBK-FM Rensselaer NY to 105.7 Malta NY, Townsquare Media has reversed half of that move.
What had been Alternative “Alt 103.5” WQSH has returned to simulcasting the Classic Rock brand on 105.7 WQBK-FM as “Q105.7/103.5“. The move restores the Classic Rock programming to the western portions of New York’s Capital District and across the Thruway to Utica.
Townsquare had moved the Classic Rock format to 105.7 in July 2019 to improve the coverage for the Classic Rock format in the areas north of Albany at the expense of the southern and western reaches of the market. After simulcasting for a month, 103.5 had resurrected 105.7’s prior Alternative brand in August 2019, while 103.9 became Soft AC “The Breeze” WPBZ.
The move leaves Pamal Broadcasting’s similarly branded “Alt 104.9” WINU Altamont as the only Alternative station in the Albany market. WQSH had led WINU by a 1.1 to 0.9 share margin in the July 2021 Nielsen Audio ratings.
WQBK held a 1.8 share in those July ratings, well behind iHeartMedia’s “PYX 106” WPYX’s 5.5 share.
Townsquare Media Inc.’s WQBK/105.7, Albany, (Q105.7) announced today that the programming heard on Q105.7, the Capital Region’s Classic Rock Station, will also be heard on WQSH/103.5. This simulcast includes the Free Beer & Hot Wings morning show, weekdays 5a-10a and a ‘Best Of’ show Saturday’s 6a-10a, as well as the greatest Classic Rock songs of all time throughout the day.
With this simulcast, Q105.7 & 103.5 will extend its reach further west to Montgomery, Schoharie and Fulton Counties, and beyond. This also marks the return of Free Beer & Hot Wings to the 103.5 signal, where the show previously aired from 2005 – 2019
At Q105.7 we are fortunate to have the best Classic Rock listeners in the Capital Region and a great morning show with Free Beer & Hot Wings. This is a tremendous opportunity to invite more people to the party,” said Q105.7 & 103.5 Brand Manager, Mike Karolyi.
“We have an amazing radio station in Q105.7 & 103.5,” said Townsquare Media Albany Director of Content Matty Jeff. “Adding the 103.5 simulcast will not only bring the Free Beer and Hot Wings Morning show back to a big fanbase that has been missing the show, but will bring the greatest Classic Rock songs ever recorded to fans in western parts of the Capital Region.”
Townsquare owns and operates six radio stations in Albany including WGNA, WTMM, WQBK, WQBK-HD2, WQSH and WPBZ.